This week I’ve been doing a fifteen minute talk on instagram live each morning at 6.45am. It’s something I’ve wanted to do it for a while because I thought it would be a cool way to share my ideas about self motivation as well as answering questions and having more of a two way chat.
Why so early?
Personally, I get up early to ensure that I get as much out of the day as I can. If you’re up and getting ready for work/ uni etc, then you can grab your morning coffee and listen at the same time. Maybe you’re not even up but you can watching from the comfort of your duvet. It’s crazy that some people have been watching from the other side of the world! This week we’ve had ‘Hello’s from Dubai, LA and Australia! Let’s spread this positive energy like Nutella on a pancake! ????
Let’s talk …
Here a little bit of what we’ve talked about so far this week.
DAY 1
HABITS – We create habits for ourselves, simply by repeating the same choices everyday. Our bad habits can make us less productive and less successful. Creating healthy habits can be a real game changer. For example, going to bed thirty minutes earlier each night. Doing something once isn’t going to make much difference to your life but making it a habit will.
COMMITMENT –
You will not succeed or reach your full potential of you’re not committed. Whatever your goal is, running a marathon, starting your own business etc you can’t just give it fifty percent and hope that it will work out. You need to work hard. Commit to the process and accept that you might have to make sacrifices if you really want to get there.
ACCOUNTABILITY –
Some people don’t need to be accountable to anyone, they can be self motivated and accountable to themselves. These people are rare! Most of us need someone to check in with and to help keep us on track. Once you set yourself a goal, share it with someone. Tell them exactly what that goal is. It can be scary to tell someone but as soon as you say it out loud, it becomes a reality. You are accountable and this will help you to succeed.
DAY 2
POWER HOUR –
Morning mantra, power hour, what ever you want to call it. Make yourself a morning routine that will kick start your day. Often people use the excuse of not having enough time as a reason for not achieving their goals. You will never have enough time unless you make time.
PLAN – Make a schedule and write it down in a journal or a planner. This is particularly important if you’re a freelancer or an entrepreneur. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done before breakfast! Maybe you need to make more time for training and working out, maybe you need more time to read, or to clear your head, to pray, to meditate and focus. Do whatever you need to do but make sure that it is productive! Scrolling through social media with one hand whilst you eat breakfast with the other hand may not be the best use of your time.
Once you schedule out the hours in your day, you can see how much time is easily wasted.
ONE AT A TIME – It’s also important to focus on each task individually. Multi tasking can be really unproductive. We think that we’re saving time by doing three or four things at the same time right? Well you’re actually just open to more ditractions and you’re probably not going to produce your best work.
Sometimes, I use my power hour to go for a run, sometimes I listen to a podcast or a sermon, sometimes I just use the time to clean the kitchen floor and make packed lunches (mum life!) Getting things done before Jude is out of bed is a real time saver. Then once I get home from the school drop off, I feel like I’m already one step ahead instead of trying beat the clock for the rest of the day.
DAY 3
FITNESS – As a personal trainer I get lots of questions about motivation with regards to fitness. Personally, I don’t find aesthetic goals very motivating. I’d much rather train for a medal! (Eyes on the prize!) Setting yourself a goal such as running a 10K race or deadlifting 100kg is a much more fun way to train and stay motivated. Choose a type of training that you LOVE! Find something that you enjoy so it becomes a highlight of your day and not just another thing on you to-do list. If you find pilates boring, then don’t go to pilates. It’s that simple. Your personality will dictate the type of training you enjoy. Think outside the box too. Forget the gym, go try a badminton club or a dance class, fitness should be fun.
TRAINING – Be realistic about your training schedule. Make sure that you have enough time to rest and recover to get the most out of each session. If you’re doing very high intensity training I recommend doing it in the morning or the afternoon. HIIT will get your blood pumping and also produce cortisol and adrenalin, this can make it hard to switch off and get a good nights sleep if you train to late in the day. If you’re working out in the evening then go for something like jogging, swimming or yoga.
EXCUSES – Suffocate those excuses, I don’t want to hear it!
Cost is not an excuse. There are lots of really good free resources online that are safe and easy to follow at home. Youtube tutorials, workout dvds and ebooks. You don’t need expensive fit kit and equipment to do a really great workout. Power walking and jogging is free. Fitness and health is not a luxury, it doesn’t have to cost a lot. Go to your local leisure centre to find out what classes and clubs they offer. Don’t assume that if a class in London is £25 for an hour then it’s a better workout. You’re probably just paying for the postcode and the fancy shower products.
Time is not an excuse. (See previous chat) Even if you just get up twenty minutes earlier to work out twice each week. Prioritise your health. You deserve that time.
‘I’ve got kids‘ Is not an excuse. Go for a walk with the pram, play football at the park, go out for a scooter/ bike ride. Do your workout in the living room whilst the kids play or watch Peppa Pig. Get them involved and make it fun, or if you need sometime for yourself then going to a yoga class could be the hour of ‘me time’ you really need. Savasana aka lay on the floor, take a nap!
DAY 4
FEAR OR FAILURE
Okay I have so much to say about this, fifteen minutes was’t really enough time to cover it all. Here’s the essential bits…
WHAT IS STOPPING YOU ? – Fear holds us back from so many things, and ultimately it can hold you back from having a life that you love. So what are we so afraid of? Fear of criticism, rejection, failure?
It takes guts to go for something that you really want, be brave and take a chance…
“You only get one shot” I completely disagree, I don’t believe or accept that to be true. We get a new chance every single day. You can make a choice today to change your life. If you take a risk and it doesn’t pay off straight away, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a failure. Be flexible, keep working hard and don’t give up because you don’t see instant recognition or immediate success. It might take a little longer than you planned, it might take A LOT longer.
WHAT DEFINES YOUR SUCESS? Do not let other people define whether or not something is a success or a failure. You decide that. Never let social media decide either. Having a certain number of followers on a social media platform does NOT define your success. I know an incredible running coach with a wealth of knowledge. He knows his stuff when it comes to distance running, injury, race strategy etc. He hardly ever uses social media and he doesn’t have a lot of followers. It is not a reflection of his ability, talent, skill or passion, it’s just social media and it’s not that important! Forget the numbers and do your thing! My live chat doesn’t have hundreds or thousands of people watching each day but it doesn’t matter because I know, if one person watches my video and it helps them in someway, then I have achieved what I set out to do. I want to motivate people, to help them get inspired and to make positive changes to their life.
Forget the number of likes, or the number of views and focus on why and what you want to achieve.
START TODAY – Don’t put it off because you’re waiting for the perfect circumstances. The perfect time does not exist! Having enough money, moving house, changing career, there is no perfect time to make that change. If you want to start something then just start. Now. Today. Don’t even wait until Monday, what’s so special about Monday anyway. It doesn’t have to be perfect straight away either. Once you start, you’re only going to get better and learn as you go.
OVERCOMING SETBACKS – There will be set backs, it’s inevitable. You might get rejected or fail once, twice or a hundred times. That is not a failure as long as you carry on. Find a new way and keep going. (Is this starting to sound like a Rocky film?)
Seriously though, I think people give up way too easily. ‘I’ve tried that and it didn’t work’ How long did you try it for? How many times did you try again? If you accept that there will be set backs but you are willing to REALLY work hard, if you’re willing to work harder than those that are afraid to try, then you will win.
So that’s a bit of what I had to say, I got so into it this morning that I spilt my tea on the couch! I also answer peoples questions at the end too. I love getting DM’s from people after the chat, telling me about their goals and how they are working hard and SMASHING it! Keep it up guys.
Hosting the live chats this week has been awesome but to be honest I’m not really sure if I’ll continue it next week as I’m traveling to NYC, so the time difference may not work. Hmm, I’ll have to think about that one. In the meantime you can come say hi on Instagram and Twitter – @adrienne_ldn
BIG LOVE !
